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Kindness Even More Necessary

by Mary Stella on November 16, 2015

Half-way through the month of kindness and all around me I see images of terrorist attacks. Paris, Beirut . . . many horrific acts, many deaths, many different cities. These beget retaliation and the bombings start.

On the one hand, I am bolstered by the acts of solidarity, the outpouring of support and prayers for the affected cities, the wounded, the dead. Then I’m saddened, heartsick really, to see anti-Muslim sentiment spread because the vast majority of the terrorists are Muslim. Several of my friends are Muslim. Do not blame the people of the faith. Blame the violent extremists, the jihadis, who claim they commit these horrendous murders in the name of Islam. I heard today that several states are refusing to take refugees from the Middle-East because they fear that jihadis will sneak into this country posed as refugees. A woman who is a friend agrees with this stance because, she said, “How do we know?” Terrorism is getting us to the point where we turn our backs on the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Right now, today, I am convinced that we need more kindness in our everyday lives. Thousands of miles from Paris, here on our island chain, we are still affected by the killings. Is there a single person anywhere who hasn’t looked around their community at least once and wondered if the same actions could happen where they live? All of us need the simple acts of kindness offered in a smile, extra patience, a warm hug, a pat on the back either literal or figurative, a hand reached out to offer simple assistance.

Each act of kindness is an affirmation. There is still a great deal of good all around us. Evil has not won.